I think Sotnikova is wise to skip the Worlds. She is the first Olympic lady figure skating gold medal for Russia and the glory is so
huge for her to settle down for good preparation for the Worlds. She is only 17 so let her enjoy her win and come back next season with new motivations.
I am glad her federation didn't push her to compete.

Absolutely wise. The athlete's career is short under the best of circumstances, and can be cut short at any time by circumstances entirely out of her control - slipped and tore a ligament, broke an ankle, grew boobs, back stops bending, gained five unshakeable pounds etc. An Olympic gold medal, more so than any other win in the universe of competitive sports, creates opportunities for athletes to build publicity, collect endorsements and basically make money. It really isn't possible to do all that AND prepare adequately for the subsequent competitions that follow the Olympics by such a short time interval. Adelina should be a smart girl and collect what she can while she can to build up her financial security. The world isn't going to stop because she disengages from competition for six months or so and take a break to bask in her limelight. She can always come back in the fall. It would be unprecedentedly stupid to pass an opportunity to make so much money that may very well never turn up again.

I also think it was a good decision on many levels. I think it's smart to get some rest, and take advantage of any contracts that come her way (like w/nike, wheaties, things like that), because athletic careers can be short, unpredictable, and costly, no matter what sport you're in, you have to keep the bigger picture in mind (financial security and whatnot). And doing all that after the Olympics can be tiring, too, so rest is important. Last but not least is the criticism about her free skate - she needs to retire that program asap. Let it fade from the public concsiousness, and take that time to reflect on things, craft a new program, clean up some elements/invent new ones - all of this will help her stay ahead of the pack (because you know everyone will be upping their game next season. Everyone - including whoever wins worlds next month - is chasing Adelina).

I think Sotnikova is wise to skip the Worlds. She is the first Olympic lady figure skating gold medal for Russia and the glory is so
huge for her to settle down for good preparation for the Worlds. She is only 17 so let her enjoy her win and come back next season with new motivations.
I am glad her federation didn't push her to compete.

Yup. I totally agree with this.

Sometimes, I think that when we get all up in arms about weird scoring, oddball judging, etc, we need to remember the girl at the center of it is a teenager with most of her career ahead of her. I wish her well and look forward to seeing what she brings next year.

Sometimes, I think that when we get all up in arms about weird scoring, oddball judging, etc, we need to remember the girl at the center of it is a teenager with most of her career ahead of her. I wish her well and look forward to seeing what she brings next year.

I think that this whole situation will make her stronger , really excited to see her the next season

While I too believe it is wise that Adelina to ship Worlds this year and catch her breath, I do hope she continues competing next year with new programs. It would ne nice to see her grow as a figure skater now that she has an Olympic Gold and hopefully greater confidence as an artist.

Given the trend for the Olympic champion to not do worlds after in the last 20 years (Kim exempted in 2010), it's not at all surprising Adelina is not competing. I'm sure that her public appearances and associated work that comes with her new-found celebrity is taking time away from training. I'm sure she's eager to compete but just might not have time to settle down and focus on training again.

If she needs time to let it all soak in and adjust to her new life as Olympic champion, and time to rest and train properly, then it is a wise move.

Of course the federation made her decision, they're the ones who cooked that gold for her. Now they must cover up their bad cooking.

I believe that the Russian fed made her pull out too. The whole explanation is just too wishy washy. If Adelina is exhausted, just say so, instead of "we're just going to see who is ready" nonsense. Adelina herself wants "all the gold in the world." Why would she voluntarily pull out?

If Adelina skated clean at Worlds and didn't get close to her Oly score, the event is close enough to Olys that there would be more outrage and demands for investigation. The Russian fed wants to keep her out of competition until fall GP, so that hopefully by then everyone forgets about her fraudulent gold.

I think Sotnikova is wise to skip the Worlds. She is the first Olympic lady figure skating gold medal for Russia and the glory is so
huge for her to settle down for good preparation for the Worlds. She is only 17 so let her enjoy her win and come back next season with new motivations.
I am glad her federation didn't push her to compete.

I agree. Let her bask in the double achievement of her gold. (Her individual glory and also the milestone of being the first Russian lady to win.) Whether she continues with her competitive career or not, she won't suffer from skipping this Worlds. She can start fresh next season.

No, I think he/she meant that there is no point to share the reasons of why he/she doesn't love Yuna, because of her fans.
Besides, it's not so strange to start disliking someone because of her/his fanatics, or media hype. In football (soccer for the NA'a) it happens for example.

didn't russia sub her behind 2 other skaters anyway?

They did the same with V&T, in case they wanted to compete. I think it's the same for Adelina.

sotnikova will not get near olympic score in her future competitions ever. russia fed./ sotnikova they both know...unpolished junior performances do not match with her olympic scores. let's see it will ruin and shorten her figure skating career.

Originally Posted by evangeline

This thread is so ridiculous, yet another pointless thread made to bash Sotnikova. his bashing is really getting sad and desperate.

The reigning OGM NOT going to the immediate post-Olympics Worlds is actually quite normal. With all the press attention, etc. that comes from being the new Olympic champion, Adelina most likely didn't have time to train properly--it says nothing about Adelina as a competitor. Let's see the records of the past few ladies Olympic champions:

Yu-Na Kim, 2010: Went to Worlds
Shizuka Arakawa, 2006: Did not go
Sarah Hughes, 2002: Did not go
Tara Lipinski, 1998: Did not go
Oksana Baiul, 1994: Did not go
Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992: Went to Worlds

Or what about the pairs Olympic champions?
Shen/Zhao, 2010: Did not go
Totmianina/Marinin, 2006: Did not go
Berezhnaya/Sikharudlize, 2002: Did not go
Sale/Pelletier, 2002: Did not go
Kazakova/Dmitriev, 1998: Did not go
Gordeeva/Grinkov, 1994: Did not go
Mishkutenok/Dmtriev, 1992: Went to Worlds

Is anyone going to doubt Meryl and Charlie as competitors because they aren't going to 2014 Worlds?